Stardust Honey
by LunarStardustHoneymoon
Summary: In order to protect her fiancé, who is in danger of having his power stolen, young Stardust fairy Esme becomes a human and lives among them. She is devastated to find out an ancient enemy has taken his memory and hopes to help him recover it... but a mysterious boy from school named Viktor seems to be distracting her from her problems.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note : I hope you enjoy this fanfic –I'm doing my VERY best on it...**

**Viktor is a character from the Amor Sucre manga( look him up on the My Candy Love wiki, he's gorgeous... unless you already know him) ; Leo is basically my MALE Candy, and Esme is my GIRL Candy. **

**And it begins! Please review after the chapter so I know what you think!**

"Esme..."

Said girl stirred in her sleep, stretching in her lover's arms. Not wanting to wake up at all, Esme kept her eyes closed while Leo gently brushed her white/blonde locks out of her peaceful face. One of the infinite sun rays escaped out of the clouds and shone down on her, illuminating her flawless, smooth olive skin.

Leo leaned down to kiss her cheek and she finally let a giggle slip out of her before slowly opening her honey golden eyes. Esme sat up and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck.

"Good morning, Esme."

Esme sighed when Leo wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a warm, loving embrace. The both of them held each other for a while, silently gathering words after enjoying the thrill of a new morning.

"Oh, Leo, I'm so happy. I can't believe we're getting married today." Esme sighed in her sing-song voice. Leo's hazel eyes suddenly widened as he realized something. He quickly glanced around their surroundings.

Esme looked down at her dress, then looked up at the mushrooms, grass, and flowers. She laughed at Leo's horrified expression.

"I can't believe we fell asleep." Esme's eyes fell on the sticky acorn pot full of stardust honey sitting in between them. She stretched again, this time both her arms, legs, and her tall transparent wings.

"E-Esme, this is bad!" Leo stood up from underneath the blanket and started gathering their things. "If anyone were to see us together, they would think something _happened _last night."

Esme blinked, trying to figure out what he meant, "Huh? But, all we did was have dinner and stay up all night eating the honey..."

"Exactly!" Leo blushed a little, "That's what happened, but you can't expect out parents to believe that... we fell asleep! If they find us here together—Ugh... they'll punish us since they think we've done such a thing before we got married..."  
His voice trailed off. Esme let out a long sigh, standing up and brushing off her ball gown and stepping into her shoes.

"Leo!" she yelled, "Would you calm down? If it really scares you that much, then let's split up."

Leo's hazel eyes got wide, "W-what? Esme, how can you say that?"

"Dummy!" Esme rolled her eyes, "I mean, let's depart with different stories so they won't get suspicious." she said, brushing off a bit of dirt from Leo's tux.

Leo let out a sigh of relief, "Woah, you really scared me."

"You're such a worry-wart..." Esme sighed again.

As strange as it seemed, Esme fell in love with his habit of over thinking situations and dreading the outcomes. In some sort of way, Leo was actually really cute when he got flustered and frightened.

Since Leo had been locked away in his house for most of his life, he was a bit shy and had tended to get lost when wandering. Leo's parents thought Esme was the perfect match for him since she loved taking him out to go exploring with him and slowly led him out of his comfort zone.

Not only had they discovered more about the human world from exploring all kind of forbidden areas in the garden, they also discovered that their fairy dust was edible – and amazingly enough – compatible with honey. The stardust honey was almost sacred between them, and it had become their favorite treat.

Whenever they would secretly meet up together, Esme brought the acorn bowls of honey and Leo brought the fairy star dust. Their favorite spot was where they were standing now – a hidden clearing surrounded by beautiful, tall sunflowers, a nice view of the sky, and soft soil that didn't ruin their clothes or dirty their wings.

Last night, Esme and Leo had slipped out of their Engagement party that never seemed to end and came to have dinner together... however, they never told their parents where they were, so it was probably a good idea to head back home for breakfast.

Esme suddenly stood on the balls of her feet to kiss Leo on the cheek.

_I still think it sounds silly that we haven't even had our first kiss yet... but since the wedding's today... we'll definitely have one._

"Uh... um... I'll leave first, if that's alright... mother and father haven't woken up yet since the birds haven't started singing." Leo blushed a little at the sudden kiss.

Esme nodded, "Alright. I... I guess I'll see you at the alter, then..." she couldn't help but blush, too.

_Oh, dear... they said that in the human world, it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding on the set date, didn't they...?_

Esme bent down to pick up the bowl of stardust honey and slid a finger across the few sticky blobs left before licking the honey off of her finger.

A wave of magic coursed through her taste buds, and left an almost explosive feeling as the sweet honey went down her throat. Her skin glowed for a short moment as she took a deep breath to consume enough dust to fly.

"Okay. Bye, Esme.. I... I love you." Leo blurted before flapping his wings and disappearing over the flowers that were like trees to the stardust fairies. Once he had gone, Esme smiled softly to herself. The way he said "I love you" was just so sweet. He seemed embarrassed and a little shy to say it, but she was glad she could at least hear it and knew he meant it.

Of course, the both of them had been nervous the first time they'd ever said I, but once Esme knew he felt the same way she did, she would blurt out the words almost every single time they were alone.

After a short moment of trying to calm down her pounding heart, Esme bent her knees, gave her wings a gentle flap, and flew over the flowers as well.

**~ }):({~**

"_Esmeralda Estelle Moon_! How dare you walk out on your family and you _future _family like that after we spent all of that time setting up your engagement party?! Do you know how worried we were?!"

Esme sighed, sipping her peppermint tea as the stylist and make up artist hurriedly prepared her for her wedding , which was only in a few hours . Esme rolled her eyes as her mother continued to scold her while they both attempted to eat their breakfast with a kitchen full of swarming fairies hired to make her look "devastatingly stunning" as her mother called it.

Esme's mother, Camellia, was fully dressed in a long white ball gown that hid her legs and had been worked magic on to make it look like never ending ocean waves cascading to the floor. Her blonde hair, just a shade darker than Esme's, had been neatly styled into a bun and decorated with woven flowers through the strands to look like a crown. Her make up was somewhat traditional – ruby red berry juice for her lips and golden berry designs on her cheeks, fore head, and eye lids in common decoration for a fairy woman to wear on a special occasion.

Her wings, which seemed untouched from far away, sparkled with miniscule diamonds.

Esme was actually feeling a little jealous. Not only had her mother dressed up wonderfully, her 3 older sisters apparently hadn't got the message that she was supposed to be the prettiest at her own wedding. They'd ordered more dresses than her and actually were actually wearing the ones Esme rejected last week.

However, Esme wouldn't let this ruin her day. She didn't care if she wasn't the prettiest. She was getting married today and was going to lead a happy life with her boyfriend Leo, who she loved SO much, she randomly shouted it in her pillow and drained the ink from her pens writing it around in her bedroom.

A year ago, Esme would have thrown a fit from having been told she was suddenly engaged to a prince since she thought the idea of getting married at 16 was absolutely dumb and unfair, but having fallen in love with Leo, she was sure she would have gotten married at... 13 at the youngest if they had met earlier!

"I'm sorry, mother. I really didn't mean to worry you... it's just... I kinda felt a little sick, and tried to head home... but I got kind of lost.. so I just went to lay down last night and ended up falling asleep."

"Esme. When you marry Leonardo, the two of you will be King and Queen of the Stardust Garden. You'll have many responsibilities and a very bright future filled with success. YOU CAN'T JUST ABANDON A PARTY LIKE THAT BECAUSE YOU GOT SICK. Leonardo's parents are ROYALTY, you know! Do you know how much money they could have put into that party?! And they even bought our family some gifts! Very EXPENSIVE gifts that they could take away if SOMEBODY important displeased them."

"Okay, mother, I'm very sorry I _abandoned _the engagement party. I'd say it won't happen again, but I'm pretty sure it won't. Ahhhh... I'm so excited... I'm going to be marrying Leo..."  
"Ah! Again with the nick name! I thought I told you last night to say his full name in front of his parents! When you become the Queen, you should have the privilege of..."  
As Camellia's voice trailed off, Esme once again thought about how happy she would be. Once she and Leo were married, they'd have a whole life time supply of stardust and all the honey they could ever want...and they'd have many children, and watch over the kingdom.. living happily ever after, just like the princess and prince would in the stories Camellia used to read to her when she was kid...

Little did Esme – or any fairy living in the Stardust Garden know that this supposedly magical day was going to end horribly wrong.

**Author's Note : So, how was it? Sorry, I really wanted a LOT to happen in this chapter, but I guess it's going to have to happen in the next chapter, which I will be posting very soon. I usually write a LOT in my chapters, actually. (I got really excited about just ending the first chapter so the whole story could be born on Ff) I would really appreciate some reviews! I just want to know what you think!**

**Bye, now! Be sure to return for the update!**


	2. Chapter 2

Esme stepped in front of the fragment of glass that was her mirror and opened her eyes after taking a deep breath. Her sisters Lily and Marigold gathered up the ends of her long, sparkling pale yellow wedding dress and smiled excitedly at her reaction.

Her dress was actually a fresh pale yellow rose turned upside down to expand from her waist all the way down to the ground. The green sepals of the flower were pulled up to cover her chest and the edges were tied behind her neck.

"Oh, my god." Esme's honey colored eyes widened as she looked herself over again. Her wavy crystal blonde hair had been pulled into a braid that hung down her neck. "Is that really me...?"

Her lips were colored with golden berry juice and golden fairy dust colored her eyelids.

"Are you sure you don't want to wear that yellow snapdragon dress? You look so much better in it..."  
Esme turned to see Iris, the eldest of her three sisters. Like Marigold and Lily, her dark brown hair was pulled into a single pony tail down her back and she was wearing a long white dress that sort of matched the other two.

And also like Marigold and Lily, her dress was sparkling and looked better than Esme's...

"No, I like this one." Esme turned to look back in the mirror, her honey eyes sparkling back in excitement.

"_I_ think the rose looks perfect on her. It really helps her stand out." Marigold spoke up.

"I hear Prince Leonard's tux is the same color." Lily said, looking down at Esme's dress adoringly.

Hearing this, Esme couldn't help but beam. In the wedding invitations, the guests were required to wear anything but yellow- and so far, everyone had chosen to do so.

_Well, at least we'll be the only two wearing yellow. We'll definitely stand out, then._

Suddenly, Camellia burst through the door, her hair in slight disarray, "Esme, darling, are you ready yet? Everyone's wait-"

Her voice trailed off as she looked Esme up and down, and then her eyes shimmered with tears.

"Oh, my goodness, you look so beautiful...!"

"Thank you, mother." Esme blushed a little, "Wait... everyone's already waiting?!"

"Yes!" Camellia ran over and took Esme's wrist, "The Queen told everyone to come early because a scout fairy told them he'd seen a dark cloud coming this way earlier this morning. We don't want the wedding rained on before it even starts, now do we?"

_As if I'd let some rain ruin this day!_

Esme closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her mother and sisters gently guided her out of the door, holding up the ends of her dress and placing the veil underneath her crown. Mentally preparing herself for the life changing events that were ahead, Esme gripped the sides of her dress and pulled them upward so she could walk easier.

As the veil moved to cover her face, the young bride released the breath she'd been holding and stepped out of the room.

* * *

The guests at the wedding were abuzz with conversation about the beautiful bride and groom, murmuring about how cute they looked at the engagement party, being so inseparable all of the time. They spoke about how radiant and intelligent Esme was, how handsome and kind Prince Leonard was, how the two of them made the perfect couple...

They spoke of how wonderful they would look as King and Queen of the Stardust Garden.

Meanwhile, Leo, dressed in a golden tux with topaz jewels decorated along his wings, reached up to smooth back his already styled back light blond hair. He adjusted his tie, his hazel eyes nervously glancing around at the crowd. His brother, who was at his side as his best man, gave his shoulder a reassuring pat, knowing he tended to worry very easily.

Leo didn't dare think for a second that Esme had walked out on the wedding, even after she'd been speaking non-stop about how excited she was, but what he was beginning to worry about was how long she was taking.

_It's alright... maybe she's just a little nervous.. _

Leo felt his cheeks redden when he heard a fairy among the guests say rather loudly, "Do you think she might have stood him up?"

_No, she couldn't have. Esme's not like that._ Leo wanted to say. He glanced at his mother, who was also in the crowd. Her beautiful features were scrunched in a disapproving scowl of the rude outburst. Her identical hazel eyes met Leo's and she gave him a nod, as if to say, _"Be patient, dear."_

Leo tried to calm himself as his throat tightened and his palms began to sweat. He wanted to be the strong one at times like this; positive and confident, especially when it involved Esme...

Leo was snapped out of his frantic thoughts as a bunch of gasps rang out through the crowd, and the band began to play a soft tune. He looked up, and there was the flower girl, tossing the petals along as she skipped down the aisle.

His bride stepped out of the tall daisies that had been worked magic on to curve like an entry way, her wide golden dress swaying around her feet. In her hands, she held a bouquet of tiny yellow and white flowers. Her wrists, neck, and ears glimmered with gorgeous gems and jewels.

Underneath her veil, he saw her excited, shining, honey eyes.

They were prettier than ever, Leo noticed, and they took his breath away, like they always did, only this time, his heart had sped up what felt like 1000x per second.

_Esmeralda..._

Her wings were catching the sunlight, glowing yellow around the edges as she gently fluttered them behind her. The color yellow truly brought out her eyes.

Esme Estelle Moon was by far the most beautiful princess Leo had ever seen. He'd been introduced to many princesses that were more than willing to marry him, throwing themselves at his feet with their parents trying to buy his affection and bribe him into marrying their daughters.

Just when Leo thought he would actually have to marry such dull, greedy people, his own parents realized his perfect match was not exactly a woman that would be of the same status.

And then they had heard of the most radiant fairy in the garden, set up a meeting with her, and here they were now.

Esme was like no one he had ever met before.

She was strong both emotionally and physically, she was brave, adventurous, beautiful, kind, smart... all of those things and more.

_And I'm going to marry her today._

...or so he thought.

The two lovers were only a few feet away from each other now. Esme reached her hand out to slide into Leo's, when the sound of thunder made every one jump in surprise. Esme frowned as the whole world seemed to get darker.

One by one, each fairy tilted their heads back to look at the sky, and their hearts dropped when they saw the strange, humungous, jumbled dark cloud that brightened frequently with lightening bolts.

Shocked, Esme reached up to lift her veil for a better look.

The garden grew dark as the mysterious looking storm rolled over and spread through the sky in seconds, but it was nothing like what you'd see outside when it was raining. The bolts of lightening seemed to reach all the way down to the ground, and they were getting closer.

The guests stood in alarm as they saw thousands of black birds pouring out of the sky and circle around each other until the formed what looked like a tornado. And as it touched the ground, drawing near, the fairies screamed and began to scatter.

A sinister, evil laugh echoed through the skies, making Esme's body run cold. She had barely taken her next breath when she came to realization that Leo was tightly holding her hand and pulling her away along with the guests.

"Wh-what's happening...?" Esme shouted. _And why does that laugh sound so familiar...? _Esme wanted to add.

A few guards were trying to calmly evacuate the guests, but their wings were quivering, like they were scared or they had a strong urge to fly away. Esme turned around as her veil and flower crown were torn by the wind from her head and pulled away into the sky.

"I don't know, but we need to get out of here immediately!" Esme heard Leo yell without looking back at her.

_I don't know what's going on... but why is this happening today?!_

As the tornado got closer, birds began to separate from it and flew over. Esme's heart stopped and her feet stopped moving when giant, shiny claws swooped down and clutched onto the back of a familiar dress.

"Marigold...!" Esme screamed as her sister was carried away into the sky, kicking, screaming, and flailing around. The guests gave shrill cries and began to scatter as a few more birds swooped down to capture more fairies.

Esme could hear her mother screaming for Marigold, but she could not see her in the crowd of fairies.

"Mother! Mother, where are you?!"

At the worst possible moment, Esme tripped over her own feet from loosing balance from her heels. She fell to the ground, and her hands slipped from Leo's tight grip.

"Esme...?!" she heard Leo yell in shock, but when she looked up, he had been lost in the sea of running fairies. He called for her again, and Esme quickly stood to kick off her heels and run, barefooted, back into the crowd. Her wings were decorated with too many jewels that made them heavy, not to mention her dress would be hard to carry.

"Leo?! Mother! Lily! Iris!" Esme felt her vision blur with tears that began to pour like twin rivers.

_Marigold.._.

Esme took another look into the sky, and a dozen other screaming fairies were being carried into the tornado. Esme searched in her mind for a spell to bring them all back, but her mind was plagued with too many questions, and even if she knew what to do, she was not strong enough.

_I could really go for some stardust honey right now..._

She bit her lip and called for her mother again.

"ESMEEE!"  
"Help, somebody help!"  
"Please, no!"

The voices of her family were in the sky. Esme looked up and almost dropped to her knees when she saw the King, her mother, Iris, and Lily captured by claws and ripped from the ground. The birds carried them high into the sky before disappearing with them in the clouds.

"No...!" Esme's hands flew to her face as she tried to process what had happened.

"Move! Ms. Esmeralda, you need to leave immediately!" Esme barely heard the guard that had grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away when a bird suddenly came to get him, too.

Meanwhile, Leo was being pulled onto the back of an owl against his will.

"Let me go, you idiots, I need to find Esme!" Leo gritted through his teeth, kicking and trying to get his arms free from the strong grips of the knights.

"Please understand, your highness, our orders from your mother were to take you only, you are the only thing we have been told to protect!" they yelled continuously.

Leo yelled Esme's name.

* * *

**"Esme!"**

The sound of Leo's voice brought Esme back to reality. Once again, she turned, alarmed, and ran out of the clearing.

"Leo?! Leo, where are you?!"

The sounds of screams were muffled as Esme ran further into the forest of flowers, grabbing the ends of her dress to make it easier to run. A few times, the ends were caught and ripped apart, and by the time Esme got lost, she had come across a clearing.

What she saw was not what she expected to see.

With her blond hair in wild disarray, her crown broken and laying next to her, her dress in tatters, the Queen sat, her back to Esme, her body shook.

"Your highness!" Esme grabbed her dress again and ran to her, kneeling next to her. The Queen's hazel eyes scanned the sky tiredly. Her face was stained with tears, and her make up was ruined. Behind her, a wing was broken.

"Esmeralda?" she turned to look at Esme as if she had appeared only a few seconds ago. Her eyes widened as if she had just realized she was really there. The Queen took Esme's quivering hands and looked at her seriously in the eyes.

"Yes, your highness, it's me. Do you have any idea what's going on? Are you injured at all?"

She answered the first question, " It's the dark pixies. They've come for my son."

_The dark pixies._

Esme had only heard legends and fairy tales about the creatures, but never had she encountered them before or knew them to be real. Esme took a shaky breath.

"What would they want with him?" her heart ached as she heard another fairy scream.

"Esme, Leo has great power inside of him. He's the heir to the throne, and the only thing that can keep nature in balance. Right now, he is too young to use it, but there is a way, and you are the only one that can help him use it."  
"Me?" Esme frowned, "Are you positive? I'm not good with magic at all." she winced when she heard something crash, not far in the distance.

"I'm more sure than I have ever been, my dear. Our saying in our world is that our power is locked deep within our heart. The only people capable of unlocking such a thing is someone as radiant as you. Leonard is in love with you, Esmeralda. You are the one who he cares about the most, I'm sure of it. I'm very sorry, but the only way you'll be able to do that is-"

**"Now where is the Queen?! Hahahahah! I have your King, you know! Oh, dear, did we arrive a little too early?"**

A voice echoed through the skies again, the same one that had laughed earlier, before the destruction came. Esme saw a series of expressions cross the Queen face.

"I have to call the guardians immediately. There's not much time!"

"But, your highness, what is it I have to d-"

It was no use. The Queen had let go of Esme's hand and had clasped her hands tightly together. Her body began to glow, blinding Esme for a short moment. A golden wave spread across the ruined land of the Stardust Garden. She began to chant a spell for something that Esme's ears were not well enough to hear.

Esme looked around her. The skies began to glow, and twin rays of golden light burst out of the clouds and spiraled to the earth. Two figures stepped out of the light rays and walked in separate directions, slowly changing into human-sized fairies.

One of them headed toward Esme, a woman. Her footsteps may have made the ground shake, but Esme was trembling more.

"Don't fear her, Esme. She is the guardian I have assigned to watch over you in the human world."  
Esme watched the other guardian, a man, walk in some unknown direction...

* * *

Leo had finally given up on fighting the guards when he realized his attempts were useless. He was about to cry out Esme's name again when he saw one of the black birds heading for the owl he was currently escaping the horrible scene from.

"Look out!" Leo yelled, but not in enough time. The black bird collided with the owl and they got into a horrible fight, clawing at each other. The guards holding Leo in place were hurled to the ground. Leo dug his nails into the back of the owl and cried out as he tried to hold on.

The birds spiraled around in the air, and somewhere in the battle, Leo was knocked unconscious.

As his body was ripped from both birds and he was sent flying through the air, the guardian the Queen had sent for him easily caught him in his hands.

But Leo hadn't woken up.

* * *

"Thank goodness. He's safe now." The Queen opened her eyes as the female guardian drew near. Esme felt a wave of relief course through her, but another sound alarmed her.

A crow shrieked not far from the sky at her, and Esme turned around in enough time to see it's claws aimed at her.

Before she could react, Esme was shoved out of the way, and the crow carried the Queen away instead.

"Your highness! No!"

Esme screamed. She stood up, her whole body shaking. She thought she was going to faint now. Something caught her eye, and she turned to see a golden locket.

Without thinking, Esme snatched it from the ground.

Suddenly realizing the world had stopped shaking, Esme turned around and saw the guardian kneeling before her.

She was about 100 feet tall to Esme. Her skin glowed gold, and her hair and eyes were a bright pinkish color. She was dressed currently in a strange, short blue dress with pink ribbons tied around the corset. 3 pairs of wings fluttered gently from her back, and she gave Esme a nod, her eyes soft and kind.

_6 wings... she must be a very powerful fairy..!_

**"Now, where is this Prince and his Princess?! I'm looking forward to meeting you both!"**

Esme watched as her guardian reached down and spread her hand out in front of Esme.

_"Come, child! Quickly!" _Esme could tell she was whispering, but being a giant, it sounded like gentle yelling to her ears.

Esme turned to take one last look at the destroyed garden and the birds swarming around, looking for her, and jumped onto the giant hand. She was immediately pulled from the earth, and she clutched onto a finger, closing her eyes from the feel of her whole body being forced down.

A moment later, the guardian was standing tall and Esme could finally lift her head. She peered through the fingers to look at the male guardian, who she spotted heading off in another direction...

...with Leo in his hands. He was laying down, motionless, his tux nothing but rags that hung on his body. There were cuts and burns all over him.

Esme bit her lip as her guardian turned away from the chaos that used to be her home.

"Leo!" Esme screamed, reaching out toward them, but they only grew further and further apart.

When she couldn't see him anymore, Esme finally sat back, somewhat exhausted, and lay down, crying herself to sleep, with nothing to hold on to but the locket the Queen had left behind.

_Everything's gone..._


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, I'd like to thank all of you for reviewing! I've gotten more reviews than I expected! I can't believe it!**

**...lol.**

**I guess the only thing that sort of matters is the fact that I'm actually getting views on this story... it's just, it sort of gives me a little bit of hope seeing you guys left a review... I don't mean to sound desperate, but come on... It's really not that hard... there's a BOX down this page. Just type "Hello," that'd still be great...**

**But I won't bug you anymore about reviews, I'll just let them appear when they appear...**

* * *

When Esme woke up, the wall she saw atop her was strange.

Of course, it wasn't the wall she usually came to see in the mornings she woke up in her own bedroom... but the thing that was the most strange was the horrible pain in every part of her body. It was as if someone had grabbed on to her wrists and ankles and pulled her until she was as big as a human...

Almost immediately, the events of what happened before flooded back into Esme's head. She sat up abruptly, and regretted it.

Sore waves of what felt like fire shot up her back, legs, arms, and chest, causing her to silently yelp and her honey eyes widen in shock. Esme reached up to clutch her head when it began to throb as well.

"Ah! Ow, ow ow! It hurts...!" Esme gasped.

"Oh! Careful, honey, you've only had the spell on you for a few hours." In a second, the woman who was her "guardian" jumped from the chair next to her and helped her lay back down on the bed. Esme frowned as she lay back down, wanting to sit up and ask a million other questions, but she found it felt better to stay still.

That was when Esme realized they were both the same size.

It was a silent moment of the woman watching her carefully before she finally settled on one question.

"Where am I?"

"My house." the young woman replied immediately, reaching toward something next to her and bringing a cup of water to Esme's lips. She found she was actually very thirsty, but only took a few sips.

"Come on, sweetie, you need to drink more than that. Especially since you're a human now, you're going to eat and drink a lot more. The last meal you ate has practically disappeared." she laughed a little.

Esme obeyed, taking bigger drinks until she was satisfied.

"Thank you." Esme said in a small voice. The woman gave her a cheerful smile.

"I don't... uh... I don't quite understand what's going on." Esme told her.

"Ah..." she sighed, her bright smile fading, "Your highness really didn't have enough time to explain. How far back would you like me to explain?"

She thought for a second. If she was going to be her guardian, she should at least know who she is and what kind of person she is first, right? Better to just ask, since she not patient enough to sit back and observe.

"Do you think you could start by telling me who you are?" Esme asked.

She nodded and gave Esme a small grin, "My name is Valentina Woods. My cover in the human world is managing a cafe down the street...however, I was on a whole other planet before I was suddenly summoned back to the Earth..."  
Esme nodded, "So... you're my guardian, right?"

"That is correct! In the human world, you'll be calling me Auntie."

_I've never had an aunt before.._

Esme nodded again, "I see... Do you know what's going on? Who are the dark pixies?"  
"Ugh. Greedy little things.. the Stardust fairies have never had any good encounters with them."

_Well, now I can see that._

"The dark pixies are fairies long ago that wished for greater power than our current rulers. Their only option was to learn a different type of magic that Stardust fairies didn't use, and that was black magic. As they began to practice it, however, their features started to change. Their ears grew pointier, their wings changed from the dust they had to use in order to fly, and their skin became paler, their eyes sharper, their hair darker... It's amazing how changing magic can change you, huh?"

Esme blinked. _So if the pixies are really just fairies who changed... they're not totally different._

She wasn't sure why, but she knew it was probably a good thing to keep that in mind.

"So, they separated themselves from the world of the Stardust fairies and built their own world some where we could never find them, but it is said their village is somewhere very dark and guarded..."

"What exactly are they after right now?" she asked.

"It is Prince Leonard's power, but it is the world they're after... I'm not sure why, but they want to keep conquering more and more each time... But right now..." Valentina looked outside the window next to Esme, "...they've captured almost every Stardust fairy so they could take over the Garden...you're really lucky to be here right now, Esmeralda."  
Esme let out a big sigh, "And they're trying to take over the human world, too? How are they going to do that?"

"Apparently, humans have some kind of energy in them different from fairies that is very valuable. If they gather enough, the dark pixies can use it in some kind of spell... no one knows what kind it is, but it's going to be big if they need the energy, I can tell you that."

Esme's stomach twisted with worry. If the dark pixies already had their plans set up, and they needed Leo's power, what was _she_ supposed to do? Who was she supposed to be in this... _war_?

_"Right now, he is too young to use it, but there is a way, and you are the only one that can help him use it..."_

Esme suddenly remembered the Queen's words from earlier and tried to remember what she said before the crow came and snatched her away.

_"I'm very sorry, but the only way you'll be able to do that is.."_

"She... she didn't get to finish telling me..." Esme's eyes wandered up slowly to the ceiling. Valentina raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Huh?"

"The Queen... she says I'm the one that's supposed to protect Leo, but she didn't tell me how.. Do you know?" Esme sat up a little, staring at her hopefully, but Valentina shook her head sadly.

"Sorry, but... I think you'll have to somehow figure that out on you own... all the Queen informed me about were the important details of caring for you. The rest involving Leo's safety are kind of up to you."  
Esme shook her head, "But how am I supposed to protect him if... if I barely even use magic? All I know how to do is fl..."  
Thinking of her wings, Esme ignored the pain in her when she sat up and twisted an arm around to touch her back. What she felt was unfamiliar - it was just her bare back.. There weren't even any holes where her wings used to be.

"What happened to my wings...?" Esme asked, alarmed. She grabbed the cover around her when she realized she was naked.

Valentina's eyes wandered over to the desk next to the bed. There they were, 2 inches tall, in a jar, the thin crystalized and transparent wings shimmered with the jewels Esme had last worn.

"You cut them off!?" Esme asked, horrified.

"No... I took them off with magic... so, technically no. They still work. You just need to hide them so you can use them whenever you have to turn back into a fairy. Of course, you can't wear them on Earth."

Esme's shoulders slumped. She forgot she was actually going to have to use her legs here...

"I see..."

"Well, while you were sleep, I went and got you some clothes! I got you underwear, too, but I don't exactly know your cup size, so sorry if it doesn't fit.."  
Valentina pulled a bag from the side of the bed and helped Esme dress in the clothes.

When they were done, Esme was wearing a tee shirt and a pair of shorts, but Valentina started laying out all of the things within the bag. One was what looked like some kind of school uniform and another was a dress.

"I'm going to enroll you in a school here... and also, there's room for you in my cafe! We've been in need of help, it's gotten really busy! But the girls there are really sweet, trust me! They go to your school you know, we're all good friends."  
"W-what? I'm going to a human school? And you need me to work? I can barely hold a daisy without tripping over my own feet and ruining it... It was a miracle I even got to walk down the aisle without tripping today..."  
The memory of the wedding that had taken place only a few hours before made Esme want to cry. She choked on what she was about to say next and pulled her knees up to her chest, blinking back her tears.

Valentina seemed to understand, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry, honey.. But would you believe me when I told you that I sort of know what it's like?"  
Esme stopped crying and turned to look at Valentina, wide eyed, "You... do..?"

"Yeah.." she sighed, but she didn't exactly look sad, "I was in love once... we were about to get married, and he actually ran off while I was walking down the aisle... it was a terrible day... it took me years to get over him, actually... and then i decided there was nothing I could do about it. You can, though."  
"Well... maybe, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do to help Leo.."

Valentina sighed, "Hmm... you'll find out soon enough, since it's that important. Just give it some thought, but not now... you need a bit more rest... When you wake up, there's a lot more you can do when you get out of bed, so if you'd like, I could show you around?"  
Esme smiled softly, "I'd like that."  
_I've always wanted to see what humans were like._

Valentina giggled happily, her bright eyes flashing, "Okay! I'll come back to check on you later.. unless you need anything now?"

Esme shook her head, "No, I'm fine.. I think I might like to go back to sleep."

"Alright.. rest easy, then." Valentina stood up from her chair and left the room, leaving Esme to her thoughts.

_I don't know what I'm going to do to help Leo, but I'll do whatever I can... I wonder how he's doing... he's a human now, too, right? Oh.. I'm so excited to see him that I think I just might kiss him when we meet again._

The thought made Esme laugh, and even blush a little, but she hated being away from him for so long, that she think she'd want to wait until they were about to get married again to have their first kiss...

_Kissing Leo.. _

To Esme, it sounded like the perfect way to reunite. She could already see those red cheeks of his now when she suddenly jumped into his arms and kissed him.

When Esme fell back asleep, she had a strange dream.

She met Leo again...

...but he didn't know who she was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Esme woke up from her horrible dream just while the sun was setting.

Her body was still healing from having been stretched to a more human size, so she made sure to sit up _very _carefully as she turned herself to her left to sit on the edge of the bed. Her feet were already aching from the slight pressure she was putting on them, so walking would be like stepping in fire.

_I definitely don't want to lay in bed right now..._

Esme looked down at her hair, which had been pulled out of it's braid that she thought looked so perfect. The soft, wavy, bleached blonde strands brushed across her knees as she hung her head down and prepared herself to stand.

"Alright..." Esme pushed off of the bed, wincing as she wobbled upright. Keeping her aching legs underneath her, she took a careful step forward and gripped the desk next to her bed for support. She stared down at her hand on the desk before letting go and slowly walking out of the room. By the time she got to the door, the great amount of the soreness had receded.

Esme walked through the small house, her feet touching the cool wood and making her shiver.

"Ms. Valentina?" she called in a small voice. "Where are you?"

Esme stepped through the living room, where everything was facing the wall to her right at the flat screen hanging on it without any wires. Esme had only seen a TV a few times before, and that was when she was exploring the city with Leo when they were still plagued with curiosity.

The room was themed with coffee, tea, and stuffed rabbits. The fluffy rabbits sat on the couch next to pillows with soft brown colors and words in different languages. Esme thought one was in French, but she couldn't be sure. The couches looked so comfortable, and the entire house was set at the warm temperature that Esme obsessed over having perfected back in her home in the Garden. When she exhaled, she smelled coffee, raspberries, vanilla, and cupcakes..

_Is it possible she's baking right now?_

The blond made her way toward the kitchen, where the bright light was coming from. She peeked her head in and the smells grew stronger. Esme glanced across the kitchen, where Valentina was turned around, scooping something from a bowl.

"Ms. Valentina...?" Esme asked.

Valentina whirled around in a quick second, sticking a spoon full of something delicious in Esme's mouth.

Esme tasted something she'd never tasted put together, but she was able to identify the flavor as lemon with another kind of dessert.

"How is it?" Valentina asked, "Just made it... I was thinking of putting this new cake out for display at the cafe, but I wanted to try some new decorations with the frosting."

"It's good.." Esme sighed, "I taste lemon, but what else..?"

"Cream cheese."

"I like cream cheese..."  
Valentina smiled before raising an eyebrow, "Esmeralda, do you like sweets?"

Esme nodded frantically, "Yes! Desserts are my favorite!"

It was like an understatement. She ate sugar every day - an acorn full of it. Esme not only loved Stardust Honey - she'd do anything to get her hands on any kind of dessert. She loved to bake them, too.

Valentina beamed, "Lucky you! You're going to have unlimited access to cake, tea, and candy at the cafe!" she turned to the cake on the stove, and the way the frosting was styled immediately caught Esme's eye.

They were roses.

_Yellow_ roses.

Esme's watched the roses on the cake that reminded her of her wedding dress and put on a fake smile when Valentina glanced up at her with a worried expression.

"Esmeralda? What's wrong, hon?"

"Nothing... I'm fine, I don't even know why I'm crying, really," Esme laughed to try and reassure her, but her tears began to fall down her cheeks and they wouldn't stop, either.

"Ah, the dress you were wearing...I'm sorry..."

"I'm fine, really... ugh..." Esme started to sob. Her throat felt tight and her heart was practically crying out from the pain of what happened just this morning. She was about to turn and go lay back down in the bedroom to sob to herself when Valentina pulled her into a hug full of a surprising amount of warmth. Surprised, Esme's eyes widened while she breathed in Valentina's scent of cookies and faint perfume. She stared at the smudge of flour and milk on Valentina's shirt as she hugged her and patted her back.

"Esmeralda. I can see you still have some tears left. Since I'm here, you can go ahead and cry. I don't mind." Valentina said in a soft voice.

And so Esme finally allowed herself a moment to cry.

* * *

Esme roused early the next morning, realizing her soreness was gone as she sat up quickly. Being able to sit up pain free was like waves of relief. She gave a long stretch before pushing her hair out of her face and sighing in content.

For a moment, she watched the light pour in through the windows next to her.

Letting out the rest of her tears last night made her feel so much better. Valentina- or Auntie, was right. Esme was the kind of person that would eventually end up crying at some random time from thinking too hard about something upsetting.

Now she was thinking a bit more positive about her situation.

_If I do my best, I'll get to see Leo again. He's living in the same city as me now, so there's a chance we'll bump into each other sooner or later, right?_

"Esmeralda! Are you awake yet? I have so much I want to show you!"  
Esme smiled and pulled herself out of bed before walking across the room toward the door.

In the living room, Valentina sat on the couch, holding a shopping bag. She was bouncing up and down excitedly when Esme saw her, and the blond bit back a laugh, wondering what she was so happy about..

"Look, look, I stopped by the cafe a while before you woke up and found out we had an extra uniform after all!" Valentina held up a white waitress uniform with a cream colored apron at the front and a big pink ribbon tied into a ribbon at the back.

"So I'll be wearing this uniform? What exactly am I supposed to do while I'm in it?"  
"Oh, well, since you're new, we'll have you cleaning up or running errands for a while until you can take on memorizing orders. How's that?"  
"Hmm... that doesn't sound too difficult.. But I've never really had a job before."  
Valentina laughed, "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be easy for you. We don't make that many messes, anyway. Want to come down to the cafe with me and meet everyone?"  
"Everyone?"  
"You know, the employees? The girls are so sweet, you girls will get along easily!"

Esme wondered if humans were any different than fairies. She never really had that many friends living in the garden, but then again, she was always considered to be a bit odd to others.

"Uh, um, sure, I'd like to go."  
_I hope the won't find me strange. If Vale- I mean, Auntie, says they're nice, I'm sure they will be._ _All I have to do is keep my secret safe, right?_

"Then, go get ready! I put some new clothes in your closet."

Valentina stood up and handed Esme the uniform, "You can put this on tomorrow. We don't need any help right away."  
"Uh, okay."

* * *

A moment later, Esme had picked out one of the various outfits filling up her closet and was currently pulling on a white, frilly layered skirt. For her top, she was wearing a sparkly, light pink tee with a long sleeved, blue jean jacket.

Valentina walked in and helped Esme pin her hair in a ponytail and even put a bit of makeup on her.

"Okay! Ready to go see the world for the first time?" Valentina put her hands on her hips as Esme stepped into her white ballet flats.

"Um, yes, I'm ready." Esme took a deep breath. She'd thought about walking with the humans for a while now, and it seemed like a dream that she was going to be living like one now and Earth was just outside the door.

"Alright then! Prepare yourself, though. Humans act different than fairies, so if you don't understand something, you'll have to pretend you do. You're a human now, after all!"  
"Right."  
"Well, come on!"

Valentina grabbed Esme's hand and led her out of the house.

* * *

**Author's Note : Thank you for reading, please review! The next chapter will most likely be longer, sorry, I wanted to update SOMETHING. I had writer's block for what would happen in this chapter, but oh well!**

**I hope you liked it anyway! **

**Thanks**


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